JUMPING SHIP

07.25.12

Two More Syrian Envoys Defect

Louai Behsara, AFP / Getty Images

Assad’s senior officials are seemingly dropping like flies. White House spokesman Jay Carney confirmed Wednesday that two more senior Syrian envoys had defected, a sign that President Bashar al-Assad’s days are “numbered.” While Carney did not give names, he confirmed that Syrian ambassadors to the UAE and Cyprus had left Assad’s inner circle amid a growing number of defections by high-level officials. Earlier, a source told AFP that Lamia Hariri, Syria’s charge d’affaires in Cyprus, had defected from the regime, while a member of the opposition said Hariri’s husband, Syria’s ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, had also defected. The slew of defections, including one last Wednesday, come on the heels of the Syrian ambassador to Iraq’s public renouncement of his post.